Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy suffers major fire damage Above, an undated photo of Healy in better days. HEALY is designed to break 4.5 feet of ice continuously at three knots and can operate in temperatures as low as -50 degrees F. The science community provided invaluable input on lab lay-outs and science capabilities during design and construction of the ship. HEALY is designed to break 4.5 … However, Operation Deep Freeze is an enduring mission that requires a heavy icebreaker for a full resupply, and the Coast Guard anticipates resuming this critical deployment next year. | Military Times Reports, The biggest military and defense stories of 2020 - Defense News Weekly, 12.27.20, A fatal parachute accident, new squad weapons, and jetpack assault teams? That is the territory where the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy usually sails — but its Alaska operations are conducted in summer and fall, when the sea ice is low. The Coast Guard is finally getting its first new heavy icebreaker in 4 decades. Russia has 53 icebreakers and Canada has seven, U.S. Coast Guard data show. … The medium icebreaker USCGC Healy was 60 nautical miles off of Seward, Alaska, en route to the Arctic when an electrical fire was reported at 9:30 p.m. local time. Sign up for the Navy Times Daily News Roundup to receive the top Navy stories every afternoon. ARLINGTON, Va. U.S. COAST GUARD / Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama. In 2011, the ship was in the middle of a seven-month science cruise in the Arctic Ocean conducting scientific operations. In August, the 21-year-old CGC Healy (WAGB 20) suffered an electrical fire in the starboard main propulsion motor cutting short the cutter’s Arctic operations. On Aug. 18, 2020, an electrical fire broke out in one of the ship’s main propulsion motors, leading the icebreaker to return to port in Seattle for repairs. Above, an undated photo of Healy in better days. … At a time when scientific interest in the Arctic Ocean basin is intensifying, HEALY substantially enhances the United States Arctic research capability. USCGC Healy (WAGB-20) is the United States' largest and most technologically advanced icebreaker as well as the US Coast Guard's largest vessel. Sullivan said at a Senate hearing last week that the White House is considering leasing a private icebreaker to strengthen the Coast Guard’s operation “as early as the end of this month.”. These cutters are designed for open-water icebreaking and feature reinforced hulls and specially angled bows. The U.S. needs a persistent presence in the Arctic to hold off adversaries, Sullivan said. As a result of the fire, the vessel had to cancel its Arctic mission and is returning to its homeport in Seattle for repairs. The Coast Guard is recapitalizing its polar icebreaker fleet to ensure continued access to both polar regions and support the country's economic, commercial, maritime and national security needs. A fire has hobbled the Coast Guard's only medium icebreaker, cancelling the 420-foot ship's scheduled summer deployment to the Arctic and sending it back to Seattle, the service announced Tuesday.. Captain Reeves assumed command of HEALY in May, 2013. By giving us your email, you are opting in to the Navy Times Daily News Roundup. The Healy, built in the 1980s, and the heavy icebreaker Polar Star, constructed in the 1970s, are both increasingly at risk for mechanical accidents as they age, and the Coast Guard … Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy suffers major fire damage. Louisiana-based shipbuilders Edison Chouest built the $200-million Aiviq for a Shell Oil Company offshore Arctic drilling project that was later discontinued. Due to the other US icebreakers being either in repair (Polar Star) or in the process of being decommissioned (Polar Sea), Healy is as of 2014[update]the only active large icebreaker in the Coast Guard's fleet. Company owner Gary Chouest and his wife have given millions of dollars to the Republican Party and primarily Republican political candidates. Ongoing construction work on a new icebreaker is not expected to be finished until 2024. The Coast Guard Reauthorization Act is part of the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress for Fiscal Year 2021. Tracking websites showed the vessel was docked in Tampa, Florida, at the time of Sullivan’s comments. Presently, the U.S. Coast Guard maintains two icebreakers — Healy, which is a medium icebreaker, and Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, which is a heavy icebreaker. She is homeported in Seattle, Washington and was commissioned in 1999. Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska coauthored the bill with Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. The design for the Healy, the only active medium icebreaker in the Coast Guard fleet, is already two decades old. The operational polar fleet currently includes one 399-foot heavy icebreaker (Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, commissioned in 1976) and one 420-foot medium icebreaker (Coast Guard Cutter Healy, commissioned in 2000). In January 2012, Healy escorted the Russian-flagged freighter Renda… This expedition is a once in a lifetime opportunity that took years to plan and millions of dollars to implement. President Trump wants an Arctic fleet by the end of the decade, and it's going to be a governmentwide effort. The design for the Healy, the only active medium icebreaker in the Coast Guard fleet, is already two decades old. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) suffered a fire in one of the ship’s main propulsion motors Aug. 18 while underway for operations in the Arctic.. Caption: Coast Guard Cutter Healy conducts their Arctic West Summer 2018 science mission with the northern lights visible above the ship while in the Arctic Ocean, Nov. 12, 2018. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressed support for the approval of additional icebreakers. However, Operation Deep Freeze is an enduring mission that requires a heavy icebreaker for a full resupply, and the Coast Guard anticipates resuming this critical deployment next year. The Healy, which was commissioned in 1999, is a 420-foot medium-duty icebreaker that has performed many Arctic cruises and can continuously break ice … The Coast Guard's other ship with icebreaking capability, the 44 year-old USCGC Polar Star, had a fire in 2019 as it traveled to Antarctica. HEALY is designed to conduct a wide range of research activities, providing more than 4,200 square feet of scientific laboratory space, numerous electronic sensor systems, oceanographic winches, and accommodations for up to 50 scientists. The crew of the Polar Star, the U.S. Coast Guard’s only working heavy-duty icebreaker, is preparing for a rare mission north to the Arctic after the coronavirus pandemic scuttled their usual journey. The Commanding Officer (CO) is Captain John Reeves. A series of mistakes in leadership, training and judgment led to the deaths of two U.S. Coast Guard divers from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. Ongoing construction work on a new icebreaker is not expected to be finished until 2024. The operational U.S. polar icebreaking fleet currently consists of one heavy polar icebreaker, Polar Star, and one medium polar icebreaker, Healy. She is homeported in Seattle, Washington and was commissioned in 1999. A series of mistakes in leadership, training and judgment led to the deaths of two U.S. Coast Guard divers from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. The US Coast Guard cutter Healy (WAGB-20) suffered a fire in one of the ship’s main propulsion motors on August 18 while underway for operations in the Arctic. As part of the collaboration team, Marine Science Officer Lieutenant Lydia Ames, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, serves as a science liaison to the Coast Guard’s two polar icebreakers—Polar Star and Healy. - The Briefing 10.22.20, Navy approves environmental cleanup plan for former shooting range in Rhode Island, ‘The Mauritanian’ tells story of Guantánamo inmate who spent 14 years imprisoned without charges, New in 2021: US troop presence heading down to 2,500 in Iraq and Afghanistan, Nimitz providing operational and close-air support by Somali coast as US troops are relocated, New in 2021: Navy physical fitness assessments will start up again, https://www.navytimes.com © 2020 Sightline Media Group. Reeves assumed command of Healy in May, 2013 persistent presence in the Arctic to off! 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